Auction-Warehouse.com - a store masquerading as an auction
Written: Aug 14 '02
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This is part of the Fill in the Blanks Write-off. The participants are:
Quasar, Kurt_G, NC10, jro26, Bops_mom, Opinionated3 - Co-host, Pluckyduck - Co-hostess, Opalman - Co-Host
Well, we all know the big boys of online auctions. Ebay, the biggest. Ubid. Egghead.com.
Then we've got auction-warehouse.com. A small auction site that sells computer equipment (don't they all?), which is how I found it. They also have a small software section, which has some inexpensive offbrand titles as well as some standard Microsoft stuff.
In the consumer electronics section, we have fun stuff like phones, those cell-phone booster antennas, and a security section in which you can buy handcuffs or mace. (Not MY idea of consumer electronics, but hey, who am I to judge?) Rounding things out, we have a Home and Leisure section, Jewelry and Watches, Tools, Sports, and Collectibles.
Selection on Auction-Warehouse.com tends to be sparse. THe same items come up for auction time and time again. Most likely they are buying stuff from a wholesaler and putting it up for auction. Nothing wrong with that, per se.
However, the only way to save money here is to get things at the minimum bid. If someone else bids on what you want, you're better off letting them have it. The odds are overwhelming that the identical item will come up for bid again, probably right after the auction you're on now closes. Bidding wars on Ebay are fun. Bidding wars on Auction-Warehouse.com rarely happen and are basically throwing money away.
Navigating Auction-Warehouse.com is easy. Fortunately, they eschew a lot of graphics or 'catchy' tag lines (c'mon, does anyone STILL think L@@K is cool?) in favor of simple text links. A lot of information is there and easy to get to. The site design is attractive without being in your face. Item pages usually have one or two reasonably sized pictures of the item and look professional.
Auction-warehouse.com requires membership to bid. It's free, and relatively simple to set up. You can be on your way and bidding easily. All notification is done via email.
I have ordered from auction-warehouse.com before -- a sound card and modem combo I haven't seen anywhere else (useful in a desktop case that only had 3 PCI slots and one ISA slot), and a CD-ROM drive/speakers combo. Both came promptly after shipping -- three days or so.
Auction-warehouse.com won't be threatening Ebay anytime soon. Its start bids are pretty close to what you'd pay for retail (especially after you pay shipping.) But if you're in the market for PC parts, home and leisure items, or, say, handcuffs or mace, it's worth checking out. But if someone else has bid on it and you like what you see -- don't put in a new bid. Just wait.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
kurt_g
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Location: Brick, NJ
Reviews written: 116
Trusted by: 38 members
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